Red Dragon

"To understand the origin of evil, you must go back to the beginning."

2002 2h 4m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 4,896

CrimeThrillerHorror

Synopsis

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Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.

“To understand the origin of evil, you must go back to the beginning.”

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Cast

Edward Norton
Will Graham
Anthony Hopkins
Hannibal Lecter
Ralph Fiennes
Francis Dolarhyde
Emily Watson
Reba McClane
Harvey Keitel
Jack Crawford
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Freddy Lounds
Anthony Heald
Dr. Chilton
Mary-Louise Parker
Molly Graham

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brett Ratner
Writers: Ted Tally, Trevor Goring
Languages: English, French, German
Countries: Germany, Italy, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $78M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Hannibal Lecter Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

287+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brett Ratner, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brett Ratner directs. Dante Spinotti behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Mark Helfrich cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, Italy, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $78M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 24 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.
4International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Hannibal Lecter Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6287+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Brett Ratner, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Mark Helfrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins and Ralph Fiennes carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "To understand the origin of evil, you must go back to the beginning.".
12IMDB entry: tt0289765 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 31 themes, including "based on novel or book", "psychopath", "fbi", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Mark Helfrich
Production design: Kristi Zea
Costume design: Betsy Heimann
Makeup / hair: Julie L. Pearce
VFX supervisor: Jerry Pooler
Sound: Craig Henighan
Stunt coordinator: Conrad E. Palmisano
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $78,000,000
Box office: $209,196,298
Return: 268% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Red Dragon (2002)

Part of

The Hannibal Lecter Collection

Hannibal Lecter 'Lecktor' is an American psychological thriller film series, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. Hannibal is a sequel to the 1991 Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs that returns Anthony Hopkins to his iconic role as serial killer Hannibal Lecter 'Lecktor'. Julianne Moore co-stars, taking over for Jodie Foster in the role of FBI Agent Clarice Starling. Red Dragon prequel stars Edward Norton as FBI agent Will Graham. Original Manhunter and Hannibal Rising sans Hopkins.

Also by

Brett Ratner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-04-23
★ 7/10
I am not a man. I began as one, but now I am becoming more than a man, as you will witness. Red Dragon is based on the novel of the same name written by Thomas Harris and is directed by Brett Ratner and written by Ted Tally. It stars Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Mary-Louise Parker & Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Dante Spinotti is on cinematography and Danny Elfman scores the music. Red Dragon is a prequel to the hugely successful Silence of the Lambs. The story had already been filmed as Manhunter in 1986 directed by Michael Mann. The signs weren't particularly good for Red Dragon. The previous year had seen Ridley Scott tackle Silence Of The Lambs follow up, Hannibal, with tepid results. While at the helm here was the director of such fodder as Rush Hour 1&2, and of course Mann's take on the story is viewed as a grainy and skin itching cult classic. Nice to report then that even tho it's hardly in the same class as "Lambs," it's a willing entertainer that genuinely manages to unease. Firstly one has to get past the Hannibal Lecter factor to fully enjoy (and dampen expectations) the movie on its own terms. Lecter (Hopkins enjoying himself but going through the motions) is a secondary character. Important? Yes! But still secondary to Norton's troubled but gifted FBI agent Will Graham and Fiennes bonkers serial killer Francis Dolarhyde (AKA:The Tooth Fairy). Red Dragon is first and foremost a ripping good old detective story, with Ratner and Tally wisely using the bits that made Harris' novel such a page turning success. They have added their own bits of course {the pre-credit sequence involving Lecter & Graham sets things up perfectly}, but ultimately it's a loyal enough telling of a gripping and goose flesh inducing story. The makers have wisely filled the film out with quality performers. Norton underplays Graham nicely, a character unable to stay away from the job that threatens his family, he becomes an easy guy to root for as things start to get troubling. Fiennes too doesn't go over the top, in great physical shape and with piercing blue eyes, he exudes menace without resorting to being a cackling caricature. Hoffman was a shoe in for a weasel reporter since he does it so well, while Keitel, tho not having to stretch himself, offers up a stoic turn as Jack Crawford. But the main performance, and sadly unheralded, comes from Emily Watson as the blind Reba. With Reba acting as both a romantic and redemptive foil to Dolarhyde's split-personality, Watson gets the tough gig, and comes up trumps with an affecting turn featuring the right amounts of spunk, sadness and needy tenderness. It's a bit too polished to be a nerve shredder, with Ratner unable to give the film an atmospheric feel befitting the darkness at its core. But it does deliver on the promise of not only that opening segment, but also on Harris' fine procedural narrative. 7/10
Gimly2020-06-18
★ 7/10
This might seriously be the only good thing Brett Ratner has ever done. I don't even mean movies he's made, just like, thing he's done. Ever. In his life. Doesn't live up to the book, or to Silence of the Lambs (though that second part took me a while to figure out), but I watch this thing semi-regularly and I haven't gotten sick of it yet. Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
CinemaSerf2023-09-03
★ 7/10
Retired FBI man "Will Graham" (Ed Norton) finds himself back working with "Hannibal Lecter" (Sir Anthony Hopkins) at whose hands, years earlier, he only narrowly escaped death - this time on the hunt for the elusive "Tooth Fairy" (Ralph Fiennes) who is running amok in downtown Baltimore using each full moon as an excuse to slaughter two - seemingly unconnected - families. Norton is great in the role; he treads the line between emotionally embattled agent and dedicated, almost obsessed, detective with considerable skill. Hopkins features less frequently, but still exudes menace as only he can and Fiennes, too, has a look of madness and evil about him that, alongside Ted Tally's adept adaptation of Robert Harris' novel, creates a wonderfully tense, suspenseful couple of hours of drama. It hasn't the style, or pace of it's 1991 sequel - but perhaps that's because we have had ten years to absorb just how potent these original characterisations actually were; but this is still is good watch combining horror and wickedness in an, at times, edge of the seat story.